The hospital is the first in Poland to introduce special antimicrobial coper furnishings.
You may touch them as you enter the hospital through the main entrance – the lobby has been fitted out with a copper alloy handrail. Another handrail of this kind runs upstairs.
Copper against bacteria and viruses
Copper furnishings aim to reduce the number of infections, which are particularly dangerous to those patients who have low immunity levels, have undergone a major surgery or transplantation, e.g. kidney transplantation.
The Nephrology Ward was selected to start the project as it was in the middle of the renovation process. The unit has been furnished with Cu+ copper handles, drip hangers, bars, handrails and trolleys. Overall, nearly 600 copper furnishings have been installed. Patients and guests at the ward are provided with special information on boards and leaflets.
"The majority of microbes at our hospital are completely immune to antibiotics. This problem is rife not only at our hospital or in Poland, but all over the world. Cu+ copper proves to be very effective in solving it," says Professor Wojciech Witkiewicz, Head of Regional Specialist Hospital.
This is corroborated by Michał Ramczykowski, President of the Polish Centre for the Promotion of Copper, which acts as a partner in the project to provide the Wroclaw hospital with Cu+ copper furnishings. "Pure copper and its alloys have a natural capacity to kill bacteria, viruses and fungi that gather on their surfaces, they do so within two hours, even if there are plenty of microbes to fight against," says Michał Ramczykowski, President of the Polish Centre for the Promotion of Copper, which acts as a partner in the project to provide the Wroclaw hospital with Cu+ copper furnishings.
Handrails under scrutiny
Handrails at the hospital lobby have been examined to find out if Cu+ copper is effective enough to fight microbes in the hospital environment. First, in 2013, samples were taken from a steel handrail, and then in the corresponding period in 2014, from its new copper counterpart. The survey has demonstrated that Cu+ copper handrails are three times less likely to contain any strains of bacteria (e.g. E.coli or Staphylococcus aureus) than their steel counterparts. Experts have pointed out that copper surfaces gather as many bacteria, viruses and fungi than those made of plastic, steel or other materials. However, copper has a natural capacity to kill those micro-organisms, which means that they either disappear or their number drops dramatically over time.
